The Research On Military Technology And The Strategy Of Shock And Awe

The subject of Technology and Society is the important field of the Science and Technology Philosophy research. This thesis tries to analyze the influences that military technologies exert on the new strategic theory, shock and awe ,at a philosophic angle. At first the author obtains three elements of this strategy,including complete knowledge, effective attack and successful transmission of shocking information, depending on the logic course of shocking. On this base, a dialectic analysis will be placed on the effects which military technologies make during the formation of these elements separately. Although complete knowledge should be based on modern information technology, the information technology still has limits when be put use to sense the battlefield situations. What's more, the ability to get knowledge of the counter- battlefield isn't related with the level of technologies positively. Thus, occupying technology superiority doesn't mean possessing the ability of complete knowledge. Shock and awe manifest its success primarily in Iraq war, which expressed the importance of precise attacks and the coordinate actions among different troops. But this shocking action achieved the success occasionally. Because either powerful countries such as Russia, or those with stable fighting spirits, are difficult to be shocked, if the shocker only have advanced technological means. Therefore, shock and awe won't be applied extensively. Advanced technologies can defend even strengthen spreading effects of shocking information. However, the equality of broadcasting means provides the rival with the possibility of carrying on back psych-war. Once the motivation of the shocked was provoked, the broadcasting influences of shocking information would be discounted to some extent, especially when the shocker doesn't play a just role. Obviously, things are related each other universally, and the realization of psychological effects in war needs the support of military technologies more than before. But things are relative, so the same military technology may be advantageous and disadvantageous to the achievement of shock and awe. Although substance determines awareness, yet the latter also react to the former. So once the fighting spirit of the shocked functioned, it would have affected shock and awe greatly.